◆1. Malan Flower: China Children's Art Theatre stages a fairy tale musical (音樂劇) "Malan Flower" this weekend.

Beautiful Malan flowers were blossoming everywhere on Malan Mountain, and hard-working girl Xiao Lan was married to the god of flowers, Ma Lang. They lived a happy life in harmony with Grandpa Tree. and all the lovely little animals. However, greedy Old Cat made use of the jealousy of elder sister Da Lan to kill Xiao Lan, in an attempt to keep the magic Malan flower under her possession.

This fairy tale entertained three generations of Chinese youth.

Time: 7: 30 p. m., until August 21

Place: The Great Theatre of the Cultural Palace of the Nationalities, west of Xidan Area

Tel: 6602-2530

◆2. Joyful jugglers: The China Acrobatic Troupe is staging a nightly variety show at the Tiandi Theatre, where the seemingly impossible becomes a reality, where performers spin (旋轉) plates and juggle umbrellas.

Contortionists (柔術演員) show incredible feats of flexibility and acrobats leap through the air. Integrating juggling, unicycling, balancing and jumping through hoops with the finest ancient Chinese dancing, the performance will amuse you.

Time: 7: 15 p. m., daily

Place: 10 Dongzhimen Nandajie, Chaoyang District

Tel: 6502-3984

◆3. Tour of love: Taiwan singer David Tao (Tao Zhe), who is on a global tour, will arrive in Beijing next month.

Tao Zhe was born into a musical family. His father is an expert in Western pop music while his mother is from a family famous for playing Peking Opera. This probably explains why Too approaches pop music from a unique angle (角度), which separates him from the average pop singer.

With the song "Forever Love You" as the theme of the concert, Tao will share his love and ideas for life and music with his fans.

Time: 7: 30 p. m. , September 10

Place: Capital Gymnasium, Baishiqiao Lu

Tel: 6835-4055

◆4. Army artist: An exhibition featuring artist Li Shaozhou's personal and meticulous (注意細節(jié)的) style of painting will be held at the National Art Museum of China.

Born in Henan Province, Li showed strong interests in art during his childhood, and was a specialized artist in the army.

The exhibition will present 65 paintings of modern figures, birds and flowers that he has made over the past decade, during which he has formed his own style by absorbing other painting techniques.

Time: 9 a. m. ~ 5 p. m., August 23 ~ 29

Place: 1 Wusi Dajie

Tel: 8403-3500

Which advertisement will Michael be most interested in if he likes fairy tales?

A. Malan Flower.   B. Joyful jugglers.        C. Tour of love.    D. Army artist.

What phone number should you dial for further information if you are a pop song fan?

A. 6602-2530.       B. 6502-3984.      C. 6835-4055.     D. 8403-3500.

On which page do the above passages most probably appear in the newspaper?

A. Opinions. B. Business.         C. Sports.          D. Listings.

A young man went to a town and worked there. He did not have a wife and a servant did the work in his house.

The young man liked laughing a lot. He nailed the servant’s shoes to the floor on Monday, and then laughed, because he put his feet in them and fell down. The servant was not angry, but smiled.

Then the young man put brushes in his bed on Tuesday. The servant got into bed and hit the brushes with his feet. He was afraid. The young man laughed loudly again. Again the servant was not angry, but smiled.

Then on Wednesday the young man said to his servant, “You’re a nice, kind man. I am not going to be unkind to you again.”

The servant smiled and said, “And I’m not going to put any more mud from the street in your coffee.”

He played a joke on the servant because     .

  A. he hated him

  B. he was not satisfied with the food the servant prepared for him

  C. he wanted to get pleasure

  D. he liked to show off himself

When the young man played a joke on him, the servant was not angry but smiled because _____.

  A. he liked the young man’s action         B. making the young man laugh is his job

  C. he was afraid to be fired            D. he thought he shouldn’t be angry with a child

What did the servant do in return to the young man?

  A. He stole something from the house.          B. He gave a smile to the young man.

  C. He had a fight with him.                    D. He put mud into the young man’s coffee.

Why did the young man stop playing jokes on the servant? Because ___.

  A. the servant showed kind and nice behavior to him

  B. the servant told him the truth

  C. he wanted to be a good man                    

D. his father told him to do so

Of all __________ reasons for my decision to become a university professor, my father’s advice was __________ most important one.

A. the; a     B. 不填; a     C.  不填; the     D. the; the

閱讀短文，選出最佳答案。

I Don’t Think I Wrote Wrong

Lao Yang was born in a small town. He liked reading when he studied at school. He thought the writers were respected(尊敬) and could get a lot of money. He wrote a lot of stories and posted them to the editorial departments (編輯部) but didn’t receive any answers.

Now he works in a factory. He’s busy at work. When he’s free, he always reads something. He always remembers he hoped to be a writer when he was young. One day, Xiao Ping, his ten-year-old daughter, came back. She looked worried and didn’t eat anything. She said Miss GAO, her Chinese teacher, told them to write a solicit article(征文) “My Father” that evening. But she did not know what to write.

“That’s easy,” said Lao Yang. “Let me help you.”

Then he sat down to write the solicit article at once. He easily finished it on time. He was sure Miss GAO would like it. But one afternoon he asked his daughter if the article had been chosen to post to the editorial department.

“My teacher said your article digressed from the subject(離題),” said the girl.

“I don’t think so,” Lao Yang shouted angrily. “I described(描寫) just my father!”

1. Lao Yang wrote a lot of stories because _______.

A. he likes reading           B. he learned much at school

C. he wanted to be a writer    D. he wanted to help others

2. Lao Yang posted the stories to the editorial departments, _______.

A. and he got a lot of money          B. and he became a famous man

C. and he was respected           D. but he failed

3. As _______, Lao Yang decided to help his daughter.

A. he was a writer                B. he was free  

C. he wanted to realize his ideal     D. he wanted to make his daughter happy

4. Lao Yang hoped _______.

A. his article could surprise the teacher     B. his article could be chosen

C. the children could like his article        D. everyone could soon know him

60. Lao Yang’s solicit article digressed from the subject _______.

A. because he couldn’t write it at all       B. because he didn’t know his father well

C. because it was too bad to be chosen      D. just because he described his father

Little Brother

By Cory Doctorow, 382 pages, $19.95

In the very near future, Marcus Yallow is walking with his friends in San Francisco when a 9/11-sized terrorist attack occurs blocks away. Everyone around is secretly taken away by the Department of Homeland Security to see whether they're terrorists. However, during the investigation, one of his friends dies mysteriously. The friends try to find out the truth. If you read only one science-fiction novel this year, make it this one.

The Flying Troutmans

By Miriam Toews, 274 pages, $32

The heart of the book is a road journey in Canada made by Hattie，Thebes and Logan to find Cherkis, the kids' dad. It's rich in dialogue, sometimes funny, sometimes surprisingly sad, always character-true. Toews is an extraordinarily gifted writer, with tough-minded compassion (同情) for her characters.

Reading By Lightning

By Joan Thomas, 388 pages, $22.95

We're in 1930s Canada, where Lily's father arrived three decades earlier to be promised fertile agricultural land. But they had been cheated and thrown in the middle of Manitoba. Now William Piper and his wife farm their land and place little hope in this life.

What They Wanted

By Donna Morrissey, 325 pages, $32

A father has a heart attack; a brother and a sister leave Newfoundland and go to Alberta, Canada to work； a tragedy brings reconciliation (和解), but also terrible loss. Primarily a novel of character, it's also a novel of Canada, of two very specific and vividly drawn places. Donna Morrissey's characters are troubled, sensitive, quick to be moved to anger or pain, and just as quick to laughter and affection.

If Jim only has 20 dollars, which book could he buy?

      A. The Flying Troutmans.     B. What They Wanted.

       C. Little Brother.             D. Reading By Lightning.

According to the text, we know that The Flying Troutmans is      .

     A. full of dialogue           B. a sad story

     C. about tourism            D. a real story

In Reading By Lightning, why did William Piper arrive in Canada?

      A. To carry out his promise.     B. To` work in a big city.

      C. To get work experience.      D. To seek his fortune.

If you want to know about two different places of Canada, whose novel is the best choice?

    A. Cory Doctorow's.            B. Miriam Toews's.

    C. Joan Thomas's.    D. Donna Morrissey's.